Go-Explore

Day 9 sept 13 Rain and Hail Even with fresh oats and coffee in our guts, we were all over the place on how to proceed. Stop today and avoid two more days of rain rides?  We checked six different weather apps and none could agree.  The decision was made to push on since rain seemed to be the only consistent element of this year’s ride.  In full rain gear we left Cuba joyfully only to determine after a mile we had set out in the wrong direction.  Once again we set out from Cuba with slightly less joy as it had already started raining.  Jeff , today’s driver, gave one of our biking friends a lift 40 miles towards Albuquerque in search of a bike shop.  After lunch the sun came out.  But more dark clouds came along to entertain us with dime size hail. All we really wanted was a sixty mile ride without having to put on a raincoat. It seems it’s true, you can’t always get what you want! Dark Skies Hail on Dale

Day 8 sept 12 Down day for tire repair  God smiled on us as there was a coffee roaster not more than two blocks from our hotel in Santa Fe. Even in San Diego such a good cup could not be found.  We set off to the tire shop with grand hopes of solving the truck’s flat tire problem. You know men like to fix things. Today was going to be one of those days! Alas, the unicorn rare sized tire did not make the shipment to Santa Fe. However, the could get a tire that size to another town an hour away. An hour away!   So like the Beverly Hillbillies, we loaded up our stuff and moved. Our tire indeed was waiting for us at our destination. Ah a solution brought some great smiles (combined with a hamburger and chocolate shake).  Around 3:00 pm we were off to find our course resumption in Cuba, NM.  Cuba…. Now there’s a memorable town. Two out of the three motels were not fit for humans to sleep in. The ‘Frontier’ motel was a fine example of 1960’s motor days. 60 years ...

Day 7 sept 11 The night before was a lightning tempest of biblical times. While awake in my tent, dodging lightning strikes, I formulated a solution to our current dilemma.  We were well past three strikes:  Strike 1. Flat tire on the truck  Strike 2. Starlink, our backup communication system (which we had become quite reliant on) was down Strike 3. Rain created sticky mud  Strike 4. Going forward was thirty miles of remote terrain  Strike 5. New Mexico forest roads were horrible compared to Colorado.  I’m sure my mind could come up with more. Send me yours! My solution was to go backwards to Colorado with everyone.  I was worried that it was going to be met with considerable resistance. Usually no one likes to go backwards. Usually the plan is to “divide and conquer “. Before I had a chance to present my case in a jury of my peers, Stu had proposed my exact solution so I hardily agreed. There was some grumbling amongst the others but they eventually s...

Day 6 sept 10 Five men all jammed into one little cabin. The two bunk beds were something handed down from an old YMCA summer camp. Oh the squeaking anytime someone rolled over.  It started sprinkling at sunrise while we were waiting for coffee. The sky was painted with a double rainbow!  The night before we arranged with the two Amish sisters for some early breakfast sandwiches. One of the sisters was a baker of breads, the other sweets like cookies and cinnamon rolls. Our breakfast was a handmade biscuit with eggs, bacon, and cheese. We stood there entirely enjoying our breakfast while staring at their antique fire engine. The sourdough was so good, I bought a loaf.  The bike ride that morning was one of the reasons we ride. Our trail floated down the canyon following a river. Along the way we saw horses. Stopping for a photo, a young pony came to the fence and let us scratch his forehead.  We stopped at a junction in the highway and had a coffee break. Midday...

I forgot to post this since it was written where we had no connectivity. Day 4  September8 For some reason, I start to get philosophical on the steep climbs. Uphill, I’m in my lowest gear. It literally is the same speed as walking so I have time to think.  Working hard, challenges one’s life. The challenge is to make sure your hard work doesn’t run life’s fun.  You can’t change the height of the mountain but you can control your exertion meter. It’s applicable to many things you do in life.  When was the last time you asked someone older for advice? Don’t forget to listen.  Ok enough fortune cookie moments.  Our campsite on the stage (see picture) was interesting. Fortunately, we stayed dry. Unfortunately, someone showed up at 5:00 in the morning and parked their truck and left it idling right next to our tents.  Fortunately, he left twenty minutes later. Unfortunately, we all woke up before the sun. Fortunately, the sun woke up not too long after...

Day 5 sept 9 When someone says this is going to be hard, what does that really mean? ‘Hard’ is such a relative term.  Today was the hardest day of the whole Continental Divide   We went over three mountain passes including the highest, Indiana Pass where we just scratched 12,000 ft elevation.  We were following a little dirt road that was in pretty good shape. The trees were a mix of pine and elm. Unfortunately, 30% of the pine trees were suffering from some sort of pest. I made a note that camping here on a windy night would be quite risky.  Everyone here loves to drive around in ATV’s and pickup trucks. There’s no old jeeps that I saw except for the one that doubles as a fire truck.  Maybe Colorado was hard on Jeeps too.  The weather reluctantly cooperated with us as the morning was not as chilly as we expected and the rain only sprinkled just enough to tease out the rain coat. Then the rain stopped and so did we to put the coats back into ...